What to do with an electric sofa recliner that's stuck?

Question

My electric sofa recliner is stuck in the feet up position. Will not retract. Unplugged, replugged nothing works

Recliner not working?

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CK · Answer

I'd get an electrician to look at it. It is after all, an electrical device installed in a piece of furniture. If it's not too old, maybe the dealer you got it from will have a replacement part (i.e. motor). On the other hand, if the recliner is getting old (well that's a relative term) it may be more cost effective to get a new recliner. Weigh the cost of repair over purchasing new before making a decision. Maybe this YouTube video can be of some help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY-P-nO_wqY

Johnchip · Answer

You will have to turn it over and take a good look at all the moving parts you can access.  Something may be simply out of joint, as the motor seems to work if you say you turned it on and off.

William · Answer

Do you get any sound from the motor when its plugged in ( hum, buzz )?! Could be the motor is dead. Could be the hand control. Could be the power transformer ( does it have a power on light, is it lit). If you know the maker, see if they have a website and a troubleshooting section.

Meticularius · Answer

I agree with William, Burbank IL., below,  and have a  few more suggestions. First, I'd like to ask what was the chair doing, or having done to it, before it got stuck. For example, were children playing on it?  This could be a clue. Second, I'd like to ask about your courage. If you have the courage, then you can turn the chair on its side with the handle up, pull out the staples on the black cloth, and look at the mechanical parts under that dust cover. The levers that are holding the rest open should be like scissors at some point. While wearing a glove, and the chair unplugged, can you pull on the joints of the levers to see if there is any movement at all? Sometimes as a mechanism ages the holes where the levers are connected to each other wear and become elongated, or out-of-round. This would be real bad. Perhaps they just got jammed. With the chair on its side, you can plug the cord back in, and actuate the switch to make it go. Is there a hum from the motor, or a little box somewhere in there? If so, then that's bad too.  Turn the switch off and on several times to see if you can jostle loose a stuck mechanism. Maye a drop of oil is need at some joint, like thge Tin Manin  the Wizard of OZ. You  may decide you'll need professional help. The manufacturer should be able to help you if they're kind enough to do so without trying to sell you a new chair. You'll need to write down the make and model of the chair. Unfortunately, if its one of those made in China, there probably won't be any immediate help for you. If made in America, then there's hope. Any of the electrical components in the chair can usually be replaced, even without the manufacturer's help. If you can isolate the component, then you can read sometimes its information on its housing, look it up on the internet, and buy a replacement.  An electrician c-a-n help you but I fear it will cost an arm and a leg. A handyman may be worse, because many will tell you they understand electricity and can do certain things, but they exaggerate. You can call around town and find a shop somewhere that has someone capable. When I'm stuck, I call the little appliance shops that do washers and dryers, and although they may not be able to do it themselves, they may know another shop that does have the capability. Calling around gets a lot done.

Lisaalt40 · Answer

Replaced recliner switch

Crystal · Answer

My transformer has a green light but when I plug it in it goes off

Jessica Crane · Answer

I have a leather sofa that has a electric recliner on each end. One end works and is fine, the other end is stuck, the green light isn't on at the button on the side. This side of the couch has done this before and it mysteriously started working again. The bad part is it went out completely reclined, which is an uncomfortable position if not trying to sleep. Last time it at least went out in my favorite position. Is there any way to bypass the electrical mechanics and manually just put the chair down? Im not concerned about it being fixed. Just down

Kenny Tomes · Answer

My motor has gone bad,

Tags have been pulled off chair identifying mod#,

Was told without they can't tell me replacement without mod#..

Corinne Wilson · Answer

How do I get an elderly person out of a recliner that is fully reclined with the power out

Carla · Answer

There's no power on either end. And on one end it's stuck in the up position where I was sitting. It just quit all at once no warning.

Carla · Answer

I forgot it's a leather sofa that I purchased at Rooms To Go.

Haresh Patel · Answer

I helped a friend who had such a problem. After some troubleshooting, it turned out that there was a electrical disconnect inside the motor housing. I removed the end cap of the motor by removing about 6 screws and found the disconnect of two single pin flying connectors. Pushed the pins back together and it works now.

This may not be the problem in every case.

Barbara · Answer

I have a corner couch, the lights on the front if it that controls the buttons for up and down is out I can see what to switch it to How do I replace the bulb

Caroline · Answer

My electric recliner was making a clicking sound for a few weeks then my daughter had a sleep over and one child that came to visit was caught jumping all

over the sofa and reclining the sofa in and out now it only makes a loud hmmmmmm sound and won’t move in or out looked at all the electrics and they are all plugged in and the other end of the sofa still works so could it be the motor ??? Any help greatly received

TIA Caroline

Diedre · Answer

Mine won't go out of the recliner position either. I almost KNOW mine is in the switch. The switch is on each end of the sofa and looks like a round hard piece of plastic. One side is up and the other side is down. Months or weeks after I got it it stopped working and you could slap the switch and it would work again. I live alone and it never gets used and I sort of forgot because it's worked for the last few years. It's 5 years old. My mom stayed over after I had surgery and she kept trying to push the feet down with her feet and I kept telling her she had to stop that or she was going to break it! She wouldn't use the switch but it wouldn't go down no matter how hard she'd push then she'd remember she had to use the button. This morning she woke and it wouldn't go down at all. The button is dead. There is no humming sound or anything. The motor isn't even trying to clothes it. I did get a slight move farther open! I thought maybe she got the mechanics in a bind, I tried to open every 'joint' area to make sure it was in a good position to clothes. Nada! Slapping the switch doesn't work anymore. I'm a 56 year old widow. Do you think it would be worth it to pry off the switch? Would it be obvious enough to an untrained ignorant eye if there was a short or wires not connected or is it a complicated wiring system under there? I've don't things like repair a cut wire on a small appliance and installed a thermostat to the wall, but no complicated wiring or even anything as simple as install a light kit or ceiling fan. I think I could. I understand the concept of 3 wires, one being the ground wire and a hot and neutral wire. Green is ground, red is hot and it's black or something like that for the neutral. Or some such colors that's obvious what's what, right? Will the switch be that simple?

Sharon · Answer

When one of my client's recliners acts up, I get on YouTube to watch a few of their videos on that specific brand of chair, and then attempt the repair, unplug the chair first.... https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+fix+recliner+chair+mechanism (the bane of the caregiver, recliners)

Carol Cole · Answer

Check the batteries before you call anybody.

Marytdement · Answer

My Recliner Chair Tension Springs and pull handle not working the i am able to fix it myself I got more help from chairsadvisor.com which provide helpful tips on it. I think you can fix your electric recliner sofa DIY. Just following some steps.

Alan H · Answer

My grandson was larking around on one side of the sofa recliner - kept pressing the buttons open and close until the chair was fully extended out - then it wouldn't go back - seemed the power was dead. Checked the fuse and that was fine. Checked the internet and found this thread - got depressed - no way could I tip this sofa on its end. The unit must be about 10 years old so probably no spare parts available and concerned about the cost of an electrician. After reading all this thread, I went back to the sofa and just gave the buttons a hard thump with my fist - hey presto - all working again - phew.

Aaron Smith · Answer

Hey im 14 and I’ve been fidgeting messing with the button when I’m bored I put some wd 40 on the hinges and stuff the lights green I just did something and don’t know what to do

Will Haryson · Answer

Hello! I have HomCom massage recliner ( these one) and i also had that problem. @ Sharon thank you! You helped me

Brenda Grider · Answer

My massage is stuck in the on position

Manuel · Answer

My recliner is stuck in up position. I am trying to locate the pin as suggested by users to bring it back to upright position. Please help? Mine; every push of button made it go up but refused to work with the other button until it was completely open. I used another switch from amazon and checked both sides. the new switch works on the other side. So I know it is not the switch. I was able to unscrew so it is now in sit (upright condition ). It moved slightly after that in up direction and reached the edge. So the conclusion is mine moves in 1 direction. Some folks here mentioned some pin but I am not able to locate the pin. I got the recline in 2014 from rooms-to-go and they don't have any info (after hours on the phone). I was able to get the motor part number "Okin Refined-R Model: JLDQ-11 JLDQ 11.156.333D". Need to know anything I need to do to troubleshoot before I go get the part.

Please help...

Thanks,

Manuel

Please help...

Thanks,

Manuel

David Jhonny · Answer

Hi there, you can visit here: https://www.reclinerpick.com/ there you going to get recliner fixing resources!

Anibal Perez · Answer

My recliner/lift chair is stuck on lift, all other message heat, amenities work. Please help.

Kishma D Arnold-Tolbert · Answer

Hey Jeff.

do you have a video on this process you listed regarding removing motor and getting the chair in an up right position

Vonnieschmitt · Answer

I had a stuck electric recliner also. I took off the 4 bolts that fastened the arms to the motor. It is a very nice push back recliner now. If I want, the heat and vibrate still work.

Deb K · Answer

Hello, hope this helps you out,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FuDj75zE20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBtJvrVGu6I

Mogie · Answer

This recently happened with my recliner the foot rest was stuck in an upright position. Hubby manually closed it. Good luck getting a replacement motor our furniture store where we bought the recliner just wanted us to buy a new one (and this one was only a few years old).

What to do with an electric sofa recliner that's stuck?

Recliner not working?

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What to do with an electric sofa recliner that's stuck?

Recliner not working?

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